Coronavirus: How India's cheapest ventilator will help save Covid-19 patients

The company has decided against copyrighting this product so that more and more ventilators can be manufactured by anyone.

As the number of coronavirus-related cases increases all across the world, governments are struggling to ensure the supplies of medical equipment and Personal protective equipment (PPE). One of the most important equipments the health systems all across the world are demanding is ventilators which are critical to saving thousands of coronavirus affected persons. The high price and lower production have been a major deterrence in the adequate supplies of this life-saving machine. Typically, a ventilator costs around Rs. 5 lakh to 7.5 lakh depending upon the use.

But in India, an innovative solution to manufacture low-cost ventilators could be game-changing given the severe shortage of ventilators in the country. Satellite, which is India's first private company in space has now designed a ventilator controller with the help of locally available material like a vacuum cleaner. The Satellize OSVent is India's first Open Source Ventilator control that can transform standard vacuum cleaners into emergency ventilators for those suffering from respiratory ailments like COVID-19.

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Basically, the machine is a ventilator controller that manages the airflow control system which works with airflow sources including vacuum cleaners, self-inflating Ambu bags, and even the pressurized oxygen systems. Combining all these materials, a fully functional ventilator can be created at a very low price. In an exclusive conversation, Ashhar Farhan, Founder and CTO of Satellize said, "We have successfully developed the prototype of OSVent and as soon as we get all the liquesces and clearances from the authorities, we will proceed with manufacturing."

Price to be less than Rs 10,000

He further added, "The best part about this machine is that it has been developed with locally available material like ducts, sallow tapes, and vacuum cleaner. As there are not enough ventilators in the country and exporting nations have banned its exports only a self-made solution could have solved the problem and that's exactly what we have done."

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He also said that the company has decided against copyrighting this product so that more and more ventilators can be manufactured by anyone. Further, the estimated cost on one unit of ventilator will be less than Rs. 10,000 which could be game-changing in India's healthcare system.